1
To ANACREON in Heav'n, where he sat in full Glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition,
That He their Inspirer and Patron wou'd be;
When this Answer arriv'd from the JOLLY OLD GRECIAN
&nbsp "Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
&nbsp "No longer be mute,
&nbsp "I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot,
&nbsp "And, besides, I'll instruct you like me, to intwine
&nbsp "The Myrtle of VENUS with BACCHUS's Vine.

2
The news through OLYMPUS immediately flew;
When OLD THUNDER pretended to give himself Airs_
If these Mortals are suffer'd their Scheme to pursue,
The Devil a Goddess will stay above Stairs.
&nbsp "Hark! already they cry,
&nbsp "In Transports of Joy
&nbsp "Away to the Sons of ANACREON we'll fly,
"And there, with good Fellows, we'll learn to intwine
"The Myrtle of VENUS with BACCHUS'S Vine.

3
"The YELLOW-HAIR'D GOD and his nine fusty Maids
"From HELICON'S Banks will incontinent flee,
"IDALIA will boast but of tenantless Shades,
"And the bi-forked Hill a mere Desart will be
&nbsp "My Thunder, no fear on't,
&nbsp "Shall soon do it's Errand,
"And, dam'me! I'll swinge the Ringleaders I warrant,
"I'll trim the young Dogs, for thus daring to twine
"The Myrtle of VENUS with BACCHUS'S Vine.

5
Next MOMUS got up, with his risible Phiz,
And swore with APOLLO he'd cheerfull join_
"The full Tide of Harmony still shall be his,
"But the Song, and the Catch, & the Laugh shall bemine
&nbsp "Then, JOVE, be not jealous
&nbsp Of these honest Fellows,
&nbsp Cry'd JOVE, "We relent, since the Truth you now tell us;
&nbsp "And swear, by OLD STYX, that they long shall entwine
"The Myrtle of VENUS with BACCHUS'S Vine.

6
Ye Sons of ANACREON, then, join Hand in Hand;
Preserve Unanimity, Friendship, and Love!
'Tis your's to support what's so happily plann'd;
You've the Sanction of Gods, and the FIAT of JOVE.
&nbsp While thus we agree
&nbsp Our Toast let it be.
&nbsp May our Club flourish happy, united and free!
&nbsp And long may the Sons of ANACREON intwine
&nbsp The Myrtle of VENUS with BACCHUS'S Vine.

The Anacreontic Song was written for the Anacreontic Society. This London
gentlemen's club was named after the Greek poet Anacreon (c.
570-485 BC),
who was known for his poems on love and wine. The words are credited to
Ralph Tomlinson (1744-1778), and the tune is commonly attributed to John Stafford Smith (1750-1836). The tune is most famous for its use
with Francis Scott Key's
The Star Spangled Banner (the national anthem of the United
States.)
The earlier political song
Adams and Liberty also used the
same tune. A nice history of the song can be found in:

Lichtenwanger, William. (1977). The music of the "The Star-Spangled
Banner," From Ludgate Hill to Capital Hill. The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress, 34 (3), 136-170.

The above version of the lyrics is from the second edition published
c.1782.
The first of the four pages of this edition is blank. The second page contains
the first verse with the music for solo voice. The third page contains the
4-part chorus (the last two lines of the first verse), as well as verses 2-6. The
final page contains the music for the first verse again, both for
guitar, and
for German flute.

In the presentation above, the lyrics for the first verse have been
formatted to
follow the presentation of the other five in the original.
Also, the use of f ands has been modernized.